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AvarisAvaris, thought to be located at Tell el-Dab'a (some still argue for different locations), was the ancient capital of the Hyksos dynasties in Egypt. Located in the northeastern region of the Nile Delta, Avaris was the base of the Hyksos kings of Egypt's Second Intermediate Period. The city was built atop the ruins of a Middle Kingdom town that had been captured by the Hyksos. After this takeover, the Hyksos heavily fortified the city and ruled the country using technology never before seen by the ancient Egyptians, sepcifically horses and chariots. The site at Tell el-Dab'a, covering an area of about 2 sq. kilometers, is in ruins today, but shows that at one point, it was a well developed center of trade. Artifacts excavated at a temple erected in the Hyksos period have produced goods from all over the Aegean world. The temple even has Minoan-like wall paintings that may predate those found on Crete at the Palace of Knossos. A large mudbrick tomb has also been excavated to the west of the temple where grave-goods, such as copper swords, have been found. Towards the end of the Seventeenth dynasty, Ahmose I, the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty, captured Avaris just before the Hyksos were finally expelled from Egypt. The town appears to have been abandoned after the Hyksos expulsion but seems to have been reoccupied by the Eighteenth dynasty, at which time it took the name of Pi-Ri'amsese
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